Harris Books

All of his books are out of print. I once saw this paperback offered for $99.What happened to Charlie A. Harris? Holloway House doesnot mention him on its web site. Whoredaughter did this man in.Its a story line thats too controversial.Whoredaughter is a small paperback novel that has been virtually banned.

I read this book more than ten years and I still think about it to this day. From the very first page to the end, this book will have you flipping pages nonstop. A must read!!!! I don't want to give the story away, but take my word for it .... read this book!!!!

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It has been a few years since reading it but it still sticks out in my mind. This story is about a prostitute who knew nothing else to do with her life or body but sell it. The rise to the top was a long struggle, but once there the fall to the bottom came quick. This is a MUST read. Whoredaughter will change your way of thinking in regards to innocence, money, life, and death......

If you have never read a book that has made you miss sleep, then this one is for you! The story talks about a young biracial girl named WHOREDAUGHTER. How she gets that name,well you will have to read the book for that. She the progeny of a prostitute, who comes from a generation of prostitutes.The story shows how she became the richest prostitute of her time,her lovers and her problems.Other events in the story take interesting turns,and of course(save the best for last)the rise and fall of Whoredaughter.

Coming new to Canada and beeing not so firm in english reading I got this book at a selling off in the libary! I dont get them all at our Library any more! Wanted to read them all.I think it is very pity that these books are not print again!

Have red the Complete series and find this,the most enjoyable of any books I have read.What a vast world to travel with these people! Have fell in love,been happy and sad along with each of them.Cannot put into words how very much I have enjoyed reading this whole series.Would love for my grandaughter to read them! We dont have them all at our Library any more! Wanted to read them again.Beautifully written!

i have read this entire series, they were all just out of this world,she is by far one of the all time best historical romance writers of all time.myb favorite of the series was this other eden.

THERE ARE 5 NOVELS THAT I KNOW OF. FROM THE FIRST TO THE LAST, I FIND THE FAMILY TO BE SO REAL. THIS IS THE BEST SERIES EVER WRITTEN. YOU LEARN TO LOVE THE FAMILY AND SEE THEM IN YOUR MIND. YOU GO BACK INTO HISTORY AND LIVE THEIR LIVES WITH THEM.

Linux has always had one nagging criticism: the lack of decent office software. That changed when Corel kicked WordPerfect (and later an entire office suite) into the Linux mainstream. It is a great product you get for free, and a book that tells you how to use it effectively, from multi-part documents to mathematical equations to mail merges.

Highly recommended for hardcore Linux users and for those like me, who jump back and forth, alike.

Steve and Erwin's book is arguably the best reference book for newbie and intermediate Penguinistas who want to learn all they can about WPLINUX 8,x This book, like Steve and Erwin's other titles for the Windows versions of 8 & 9, is well written, the explanations are clear, concise and jargon free. Better yet, you can tell that both authours had a lot of fun learning about WPLINUX 8. I've learnt so much that when I installed COLOS 1,1, I was able to configure WPLINUX 8,1 to my needs and begin writing within a half hour follwing Steve and Erwin's book. If there's one minor quibble it,s the the book doesn't cover printing and printer configuration- a perennial headache for all Penguinistas. But that absence is complemented by Roderick Smith's book on WPLINUX 8. I wouldn't be surprised if some users refer both to Steve and Erwin's WPWIN 9 bible book for the specific feature of WPLINUX 9 and the WPLINUX 8 bible for the specifically LINUX aspect of 9. What I greatly appreciate about the WPLINUX 8 bible is that it offers the commercial version of WPLINUX 8, 150 fonts and the KDE desktop for Redhat 5,1/2. So for some 30$ you get a program that normally costs 74,00$ plus some free goodies. I highly recommend the WPLINUX 8 bible as simply the best reference/rescource on WPLINUX 8,x

WordPerfect 8 for Linux itself has a very interesting history. It is actually a repackaged "WordPerfect 8 for Unix", which is still being sold for around $800 per copy. When Corel's CEO Mike Cowpland decided to move his company into the Linux world, he essentially donated this used-to-be-unreachable product to the public.

Because the downloaded version does not come with a manual, the overwhelming majority of its users probably failed to appreciate the beauty and the power of this classic product. For example, it has more than 100 mathmatical/financial/logical/string functions (plse see Chap. 21 of "WP8 for Linux Bible"), and its speed-table-format feature (pp. 83-84) will make even Microsoft Word (for Windows) users salivating. It also comes with a very powerful database engine for table sorting. Its text search feature, including the ability to build a quick search data base, is also unparallelled (pp. 127-131).

I often found it very difficult as to where to begin when I was asked about what WordPerfect can do but not Star Office. These two products are in two totally different leagues. Unfortunately, Corel seems to be only interested in giving it away, and has failed miserably to educate the public about its merits. I bet even Corel's sales don't know what a gem they have.

I was a technical editor of this book, and have read every word and tested every example in at least half of its chapters. Let me tell you, this is an excellent book of a great productivity program. Mr. Steve Harris is also the author for the Windows versions of WordPerfect 7, 8, and 9.

For about $40, you get a product which used to cost $800, plus an excellent manual/guide book. I will not hesitate to recommend it to anyone who is serious about using Linux for productive work.

Mahalo.

WordPerfect for Linux Bible is a great book. It includes the full version of Corel WordPerfect 8 for Linux Personal Edition. Both the book and the software are excellent and easy to use. The books detailed instructions will have you creating documents in WordPerfect minutes after you open it up.

The WordPerfect for Linux Bible gives detailed instructions for almost every WordPerfect feature. I definately recommend this book to any Linux user. Considering that this book also includes the full version of WordPerfect 8 for Linux Personal Edition included in the book's low price, it is definately a bargain.

Ten Tongues is a book about secrets. More than the scene of autobiographical confession, it's a delicious, and sometimes painful, invitation to remember, muse, forget, and feel. "Don't," for example, warns us not to "Ask the body what it wishes for, the longings unencumbered by restriction" (lines 1-2). But the body remembers forgotten pleasures, departed friend and lovers, "All the thousands / gone" ("From the City of the Dead" 2-3).

Not only are we enjoined to mourn the passing of gay compatriots, but we are also invited to reflect on how a racialized economy ravages familial affect. "What My Fathers Taught Me" depicts how the relentless grind of labor exhausts affection: "Eat. / Watch TV / Say nothing. Fall asleep. Repeat / . . . / Call it love" (10-12). But to read this work solely as an act of mourning is to miss the hopeful trajectory it maps. Poems such as "1967 Saturday Nights" and "My Grandmother's Roses" muse on the material legacies of shared music and flowers that bind families together. As the poet reveals his secrets, we recognize our own family secrets, at times with a sense of wonder at other times with a sense of shame. The responses the poems elicit allow us to be neither voyeurs nor eavesdroppers.

"Prelude to a Saturday Night" opens the second section with a fierceness that recalls Assotto Saint and Essex Hemphill. The poem's subject "Lock[s] the working week / away" (1-2), and takes his rightful position among "The stars," accepting homage as his due. For me, this poem brought to mind the hopes, dreams, and ambitions articulated so powerfully in Jenny Livingstone's Paris is Burning and Marlon Riggs's Tongues Untied. It captures the ambivalently pleasurable position of one caught between a foolish bravado and a necessary courage, perhaps the always inevitable position the black gay man must inhabit. Desire and discovery abrade against the ghastly legacies of AIDS in the collection's second section, which oscillates among the promises, threats, and pleasures of the flesh.

The third and final section of Ten Tongues sweetly brings it all home. Against the dark histories, the tales of loss and disease, violence and despair, we are invited to believe in, partake of, a quiet intimacy. In my favorite poem, for example, Harris enjoins us "To forget you have a past" (1), "To forget you are a you To think / in couples pairs dualities" (4-5). It is a mark, I think, of the incredible generosity of the collection that this injunction "to forget" does not feel exclusionary. It is not the poet flaunting his lover, his relationship, his connections before his readers; nor is it a retreat into a private domestic space, a haven away from the politics and conflicts that mark the other sections. It articulates, instead, the utopian hopes that drive and inspire poetry and politics, love and lust, writing and activism. As the final words of Ten Tongues have it, that is "Sometimes Enough."

A strong debut volume by this terrific poet, published by Baltimore-based Three Conditions Press. Harris's poems combine honesty and elegance, rapture and turmoil, wonder and insight, frequently speaking from the perspective of an African-American gay man. They express identity, encompass history, but above all communicate the experiences of a poet leading an emotionally and imaginatively full life in today's America.

These poems also teach well as examples of demanding yet accessible contemporary poetry, with students responding earnestly and enthusiastically to Harris's art.

This is a book evoking deep, warm, sometimes painful, but ultimately comforting emotions. Ten Tongues reminds me of a well-orchestrated first album that identifies a great talent and is full of promises for what future work by this author will hold. This book will travel well through time, and deserves every accolade and award.

About a year ago a teacher/performer friend asked me who my first guitar teacher was. Larry McCabe, quite a few years ago. My friend looked surprised, and told me he uses Larry's books in his own teaching, and that Larry had written something like 80 books to date. I had no idea, as Larry was in the process of writing his first book when I had lessons with him. So when it came time to brush up on some basic blues licks for a band I'm in I ended up obtaining some of Larry's books.

This book of blues turnarounds is where I started. What a great book - full of excellent turnaround licks. At this point I've only played through about half of them note for note, but have used those as a basis for coming up with my own licks. And to me, that is the mark of a great book - lots of useful information if read note-for-note, but can also be used as a springboard for creating new ideas.

The licks I've learned from the book thus far are all in the key of C, but can be easily used in other keys if one has a basic knowledge of the notes on the fretboard. I'd highly recommend this book for a beginner wanting to learn stock blues licks, or intermediate players who need to expand their blues vocabulary.

An Excellent Choice for the Early Intermediate Blues Guitarist

A turnaround is a lick played at the end of a section of music. A blues turnaround would be played in measures 11-12 of a 12-bar blues, or measures 7-8 of an eight-bar blues.

Electric urban blues turnarounds are fairly easy to play, and the difference from one to another is subtle. Having the ability to play a variety of turnarounds is an important skill in blues guitar playing. This is the best book I know of that addresses exclusively the subject of electric blues guitar turnarounds.

This a book for a VERY ambitious beginner, or an early intermediate guitarist who has an interest in Chicago blues in the classic style of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed, etc.

The licks are all arranged in the key of C. This is for ease of analysis and comparison. The user is encouraged to transpose the licks to other keys - a worthwhile project for exploring and learning the fingerboard. Very, very good practice for learning the art of blues phrasing.

Great book from one of our leading authors. My students (and myself) have consistently benefited from the interesting instruction contained here.

My students and I work from several of Larry McCabe's guitar books and find that the books produce consistently high results.

This book, like the others, is exceptionally well crafted, specific in intent, and the guitar lines are accurately written exactly as they are heard on the CD. Larry McCabe books are the work of a dedicated teacher who has achieved a high level of respect nationally in the field of music education.

Larry asked me to write a review for this book, and I am happy to do so. The object of this book is to teach the art of playing blues guitar turnarounds to a guitarist who has some prior experience but is just beginning to explore electric blues.

If a student knows how to bend the strings and perhaps play slurs, slides, and hammers, blues turnarounds are not difficult to play. What is important is to play them authentically and with conviction. This book does a very good job in advancing those objectives.

A component of this book that is quite effective is that every phrase is written in the Key of C. The student should then transpose each lick to other keys, a desirable skill that encourages individual incentive and ability to solve arranging problems.

The turnarounds sound exactly like the ones played on classic blues recordings by the great artists from Chicago and other urban areas.

I know other teachers who swear by Larry's books, and I am one of them. Great book- effective in its aims, ambitious content, fun to work through, and a great value.

This very fine book has been in print in one form or another since the early-to-mid 1980s. Not many music books remain in print that long, but this is an exceptional collection of model solos in the urban blues style.

The book is quite popular with music teachers (as evidenced by the other reviews) and it is enjoyable and productive for students as well. The book is aimed at the ambitious early intermediate student, and a few of the solos will challenge an intermediate guitarist.

There are 25 full-length solos in the book, each written in notation and tablature, and each recorded note-for-note on the accompanying CD. The band on the CD is excellent. There are five solos in C, five in G, five in D, five in A, and five in E. The solos are played to standard blues progressions, meaning that they may be "plugged in" to similar blues progressions that are found in many, many songs.

The solos sound exactly like the solos heard on real blues records. They are varied and performed with taste, authenticity, and feeling. You can hear why the author was a columnist for Living Blues Magazine and why his work has received consistently high reviews in a number of guitar magazines.

Great book, highly recommended.

I wish all music instruction books were written in this format. The song tabs just go from one page to the next without a bunch of talking/writing in between, and the song numbers in the book actually match the song numbers on the cd...what a rare and unique idea! Of course, none of that would matter if the material were bad, but that's not the case, the solos are great - quite diverse too. There is a lot of helpful information in this book: theory, writing your own solos, a guide to blues styles and artists,etc. - but it's all in it's own section of the book, not sprinkled throughout the book here and there making it impossible to find. As a full time guitar instructor I would just like to say "great job", "great blues solos" and "great, easy to use format". Thanks.

The author of this book, Larry McCabe, is re-releasing books that have gone out of print for one reason or another. This particular book is an old friend. After I received it, I went into my library and found a copy. It has been in print in one form or another for 25 years. Most instruction books don't last anywhere near that long. First, this book (as the author warns) is not for beginners. You need to be familiar with the movable blues scales we all use. If you are playing out, and feel comfortable with the whole neck, get this book. The style of lead is closer to Gatemouth Brown and Freddie King than anyone else. If you don't know who these men are, buy their CDs. You are in for a treat. Please read the author's introduction. There is a lot of good info there. The Tab system is the older style. It should take about 30 seconds to adjust. It's actually easier to read than the current form. If you consider yourself a Rock guitarist instead of Blues, you really could use this book. If you use these solos as a "how to", instead of just memorizing them, they will give you some new weapons. You know, for scaring the heck out of other guitarists.

THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME WITH ME AS A YOUNG ADULT THIS BOOK WAS VERY INFORMING BOOK ABOUT INFORMATION US TEENAGERS/YOUNG ADULTS NEED TO KNOW. ITS NOT HARD TO UNDERSTAND AND FOLLOW IF YOU HAVE THE FOCUS AND MINDSET TO WANT TO DO RIGHT WITH YOUR LIFE AND WANT TO UNDERSTAND THINGS. SO MRS. HARRIS-JOHNSON WROTE THIS BOOK AND MANY OF TEENS/YOUNG ADULTS SHOULD READ IT ALSO ITS AWESOME.

This is a wonderful book for teens. I work with teens and provided a copy of this book to all - they loved it!! It answers the questions that they want to know the answers to - but not sure how to ask. It answers questions that they have had, have and will have. It covers everything teens care about from A-Z. A wonderful resource. If you have a teen, work with teens, or just know a teen, consider this as a gift. This book is a wonderful contribution to the great books by and for African-Americans.

The African-American population has been awaiting this book for a long time! What better way to help keep your teenager safe and informed, especially when you're not around! This magnificent book covers everything, from setting your alarm at night to good grooming and shopping tips. It is well written, clear, concise and easy to read. Each chapter has its own personality and flavor. Your teenager can look up individual subjects or read it like a novel. It promises to give information persuasively, while gently guiding your child in the right direction. I highly recommend this book for all pre-teens, teens and young adults!

In the 1930s Greenwich Village, already mythic as the American bohemia, was a disappointment to the visiting French architect, Le Corbusier. He found the skyscrapers of Lower Manhattan and mid-town, "mystically alluring", but the Village, which stood between these two sites of modernity, failed to measure up. In his later book, When the Cathedrals Were White (1947), he described it as "an urban no man's land made up of miserable low buildings and poor streets of dirty red brick". By contrast-and this contrasting story is the one that Luther S. Harris tells in Around Washington Square-Henry James, in his famous account of his return to the United States in 1904, celebrated the Village. He regretted the skyscrapers that "so cruelly over-topped" his beloved Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan, and he found the fashionable but bland Upper East Side no more congenial. In Greenwich Village, however, he found solace. "This portion of New York", he wrote, impresses many as "the most delectable."
"The village has a kind of established repose which is rare in other quarters of a long, shrill city; it has a riper, richer, more honourable look than any of the upper ramifications of the great longitudinal thoroughfare, the look of having had something of a social history." James has it right and so does Harris. The Village is the northernmost point of the old medieval Street pattern of colonial New York, and it marks the beginning of the modem grid. That doubled physical character is perhaps an apt symbol of the combination of historical presences and avant-garde creativity that has marked the cultural life of this part of the city.
Harris appropriately begins his story with the creation of Washington Square and goes beyond the usual accounts. He emphasizes the complexity of its birth, revealing that its creation required a modification to the recently established 1811 grid plan. That posed a political problem that was managed with patience, persistence, and astuteness by the then Mayor, Philip Hone, a merchant, one of New York's two great nineteenth-century diarists, and the father of the square. By starting at that point, however. Harris omits the separate history of Greenwich, from which the mixed-up street pattern of the West Village derives, and he neglects a longer and important social history that played itself out a couple of blocks from the square. South and west of the square was Manhattan's longest-established African American neighborhood; it dated from the seventeenth century, having been enabled by the Dutch, who allowed slaves to buy land there and use their income from that land to purchase their own freedom. The British authorities were less accommodating to the community, but it persisted into the nineteenth century until the infamous Civil War Draft Riots, when it was devastated by a series of savage attacks on blacks.
He subjects many of the myths of the Village to the test of documentation, sometimes enriching the myth, sometimes undercutting it. While most urban studies of this genre tend to repeat each other, with no one seeking solid evidence for the well-cultivated memories of the place, Harris has dug deep into the holdings of the Municipal Reference Library and Archives, into newspapers and city directories, and, with special success, the visual record of the neighborhood. The book is subtitled An illustrated History of Greenwich Village, and that it is indeed. It has over 200 illustrations, and a very high proportion of them are uncommon, not the usual suspects which-like the myths-get reused from one history to the next.
If Harris offers no thesis, he does have a point to make. Although Manhattan is marked by constant change or, as one historian recently it, "creative destruction", there is remarkable continuity in the Village. Even with the recent intrusion of Starbucks, book- and drugstore chains, and overbearing buildings recently erected on the square by New York University, the neighborhood's appeal to creative people persists, particularly creative people in the arts literature. His point is made by the multiplicity of individuals who populate his history from Whitman, Melville, Poe, and Anne Lynch's salon in the middle of the nineteenth century up until the present. These individuals-some well remembered, others less so-have provided a crucial density to the world of culture-making.
One cannot begin to summarize the number of connections made by Harris, but the entangled associations of artists and intellectuals with groups and places that he elaborates reveal how the Village works. Harris points to the allure of the history of the place and its inhabitants. The most ambitious and talented pursue the challenge and the glory of association with the ghosts of giants. But part of what is unique about the Village are its many physical and cultural nooks and crannies. Harris's strategy of combining an account of the architecture the physical layout of the Village with the history of its literary and artistic figures becomes an explanation. The area feeds on the power and energy of New York, but it provides space-a necessary space-for invention of self well as art.
Still, the maintenance of the Village has required vigilance. Le Corbusier's views were not unique, and Robert Moses, the power planner who reshaped New York during the middle third of the twentieth century, saw little to save around Washington Square. His plan to run expressways through the park and SoHo, just south of the Village, threatened both the history and the social texture of the neighborhood. One Village mother, worried that her child's swings in Washington Square Park were at risk, took up her pen. The result, writes Harris, was not only a successful political mobilization that stopped Moses, but also The Death and Life of American Cities (1961), perhaps the most influential book on cities, planning, and architecture to be published in the twentieth century.

Created by the rich and merchant class as an escape from the recurring ravages of yellow fever and cholera, Greenwich Village was, essentially, never really mapped out; never really settled in accordance to any public plan. Perhaps this haphazard beginning is what gave the area its combined refined yet anarchic flavor that exists until this day.

Luther Harris' book, "Around Washington Square: An Illustrated History of Greenwich Village" is an excellent introduction to the history, myths, lies, and unknown truths about this magnet for the students, the homeless, the artists, and the real estate agents who each value Greenwich Village for their own reasons. The text is very informative, and the illustrations are lush and generous. Broken down into easy-to-handle sections, Harris nonetheless is comprehensive. (He apologies to his readers if any particular individual, group, or building was omitted but he needn't have: just about all the bases were covered.) This is an exhaustive and wonderful book.

It is clear that years of devoted and painstaking research went into the writing of this book. One is given a strong idea of how the neighborhood has evolved as well as the society and mores of its inhabitants over several centuries. The book is well illustrated and there are many images that I have never seen elsewhere.

This book is a must for placement upon a table, ready for the next reader. Not to be placed within a bookcase where books are housed and never noticed by anyone.

I have made note that no one can pass it by, family and friends can't help but pick it up and read. afterward a delightful discussion occurs; usually about whether or not the poems are professionally completed or seem to be an Anthology by Amateurs. To date, the thumbs are up for being professionally quilled is the majority vote.

I have read "The Baker's Dozen, Volume I" several times from cover to cover. And; find something different every time I savor each poem. I particularly favor the uncluttered cover. I have noted that books destined to be considered a collectible, have a similar cover, uncluttered. The beauty falls between the covers that will take you on a delightful roller-coaster ride through the artful beauty of literature we call poetry.

Will I read it again, and do I suggest you purchase this book? To both questions the answer is absolutely and unequivocally, YES. These merit based poets deliver more and above the greatest expectations one normally will find. There are 13 separate books contained within 1 book, "THE BAKER'S DOZEN, VOLUME I. The word Volume indicates that there will be more to follow for which I am looking forward to purchase.

13 authors gathered by the foundation from around the world who have never met and share the commonality of excellence in talent in their art. many different styles with commentary written about many of the poems. a book that teaches the enjoyment of poetry and an educational read.

Imagine ... an illustrated book of poetry that is actually fun to read and that is what you will find here in The Baker's Dozen. Thirteen exceptional poets from South Africa to small town USA; from novice to well seasoned writers; offer poetic expressions spanning reflections of full time motherhood to Fulbright Scholar and college professor - something here for everyone who enjoys the art of poetry and/or simply a good read. This is a merit based anthology of poets discovered by Dr. Harris Cole Vernick, poet and patron of the Arts who, based upon his fifty plus years of experience in the field, calls this work ~ a Classic.

I may be a bit biased, but I did particularly enjoy The Art of Japanese Poetry, the second mini book found in this anthology, which brings to light some well-researched Japanese based information regarding the history, facts, and myths regarding Haiku through reference guidelines and poetry which has been offered in the Japanese form termed Haibun. The Editor, Dr. Harris Cole Vernick has called this poet and co-Editor, Maxene Alexander, the 21st century's modern day Basho. An enjoyable read as well as desk reference for those wishing to learn the art of Japanese poetry.

The greater treasure found in this book is the poetic works of all thirteen poets found under one cover through individual mini-books. Many will certainly enjoy the inspirational poetry of Vivienne Lorraine Harding from South Africa - I often read this first mini-book, Expressions of My Soul, when seeking an uplifting read. Her personal statement that "wisdom flows through words" is well illustrated in this anthology and most enjoyable for everyone. The work of Fulbright Scholar and college professor Levan Tatishvili brings the ancient Greek and Roman classics to life in the third mini-book titled, Vigor of Pegasus or Path to Helicon and this work is a blueprint for those seeking to write within the highest scholarly fashion. The work of Sheila R. Weber in the fourth mini-book, From the Heart, is both heart touching and something all who struggle with a sadness of any kind may well empathize with and draw encouragement from. The youngest poet Sheryl Anne Bright brings us a joy filled look at the promise of life in her mini-book titled Storm Tossed Musings and Sun Kissed Whimsies. Connie Minshew (Come on In - The Water's Fine!) brings us a fun look into the life of a happily married wife and mother through writing which reflects a large and loving family in small town Texas. Navy wife and mother Rachel Nicholson shares multi genre poetry which spans the full range of human emotion with a wisdom beyond her years in her work titled Lullaby My Requiem. To read the romantic poetry of Barbara Fidler is to discover a modern day female Shakespeare and mini book that will appeal to the romantic side of anyone. Her work, Treasures from My Heart is well complimented by the romantic poetry of Robert Byrd in his mini-book, Sensations - where is found poetry that finds the ladies wishing they could find such treasures as his poetry left upon their pillow. Journey Through the Mystical Worlds of Poetry by Mattie Sue Dubois, who has been called the quintessential Texas lady, takes us through a well researched journey into the world of Dragon lore and explains the history behind both those found in the Eastern and Western hemisphere - those who love the dragon lore will be delighted here with both poetry and well researched reference. Lauren Kammerer, in For The Love of Life, focuses her talents on a true love for life and all that it has to offer through multi genre poetry that may be appreciated on many levels - a great desk reference for forms such as sonnets which reflect nature, family and the inspiration she has found in life. Yvonne's World of Poetry by Yvonne Crain focuses on poetry which reflects faith, hope and the miracles that encompasses our every day lives, a joy to experience. This anthology concludes with the writing of Elaine Duffy Ashley (Perceptions in Poetry), which reflects Asian lifestyles and Eastern cultures through an awareness of life and the world around us which, continually expands.

A great book for those who love poetry, a desk reference for those who wish to write and an example showing that dreams may come true in the oddest of fashion as most of these exceptional poet leaders have not been previously published and have never met each other. That these collective voices reflect all walks of life through exceptional poetry does in fact make it, as the Senior Editor (and President of The Cole Foundation for the Arts), Dr. Harris Cole Vernick has said - a Classic to be enjoyed by all. A great poetic read, a book that teaches through demonstration, and gift to be treasured by those who enjoy the art of writing and poetry.

As one of the writers who shall appear in the third volume of the Bakers Dozen trilogy, as Amanda Dawn Vanessa Cianci, I've had the privilage of working with the dedicated editors for this series and have also gotten to know several of the talented poets selected to take part in all three volumes. Among those selected for volume II is my new and talented husband, Christopher William Cianci, who's poetry inspired my own to new heights, and who became my poetic mentor and best friend thereafter, more than two years ago. His written fusion of art and science is sure to capture your imagination. I can also vouch for the creative pennings of Charmaine Elizabeth Lloyd, a passionate poet worthy of her involvement with the Baker's Dozen II.

The Bakers Dozen trilogy is a fine celebration of diversity among poets from around the world, unified by their common drive for creative writing and the constant learning process involved. The editors have taken great care and time to ensure the quality of this production.

The book features beautifully illustrated caricatures of the 13 poets to express each on a more intimate level for the reader. Each poet has assembled a 'mini book' to showcase their own selected poems (approximately 25 poems per poet) and written a detailed biography to better acquaint themselves with the reader.

My husband, Christopher W. Cianci, and I have greatly enjoyed contributing to the Bakers Dozen trilogy and feel that readers will find something of interest and inspiration within these pages, no matter what their literary tastes may be.

Congratulations to everyone involved in the creation of this book, on the long awaited publication of the Bakers Dozen VII! I look forward to the release of volume III.

Cheers!

As a contributing author, I am very proud to be included in this collection. I could not refuse the offer to contribute to this poetry anthology with a diverse company of poets. It was a great honor and pleasure to contribute the following 25 original works for this volume in a minibook format entitled 'Poetic Verdigris':

`Nascent Autumn, Amanita Remembered, Feline, Parasitic, Clay Mammoths, Incandescent, Halls of Injustice, A Clown of Great Power, In the Tank, Cottage of Co-Misery, Château du Papillon Dansant, Disposable, Island Drums, White Rat, Poisoned Mind, After the Games, Divine, Wretched Spider, Arisen, CARNIVAL OF FEAR, A Song for Her, Canis lupus, Lucid Dreams, Flower Child, Fossilized.'

Excerpt from `Nascent Autumn':

Dawn's radiance defined thick wooded swath,
where within pristine breezes, dryads danced.
Free from steel shackles of anger's confine,
tender verses composed in autumn's clime.

Beware interlopers of love's abode,
henceforth rendered stagnant by altered moods.
Rays of first-light restored crestfallen hearts,
chased were shadows invading darkened eyes...

Excerpt from 'Arisen':

Come walk with me now
back to that special eve-
when yond tarnished gates,
we danced death's reprieve.

Through thick nightfall's heat,
bayed the hounds of doom-
decreed impatience
for the muggy loom...

A Virologist by trade, I have published over 30 scientific papers. However, as much as I am a scientist, I am an artist. The two go hand-in-hand: To be innovative at work, one must be creative in recline. In addition to writing poetry, I am a painter of watercolors and a bonsai enthusiast. I enjoy the culinary arts and fine wines, relaxing on the beach, and gardening. Although I lived and was brought-up in Pennsylvania, I developed a love for the surf and sand from spending my summers on the Eastern Seaboard of the New Jersey Shore. I continue to reside on the coast of the New England area, off the Long Island Sound.

My overactive imagination along with a wandering and pondering mind has impelled me into the arts and sciences ever since I could use my hands and read. Researching Anthropology, Biology, Botany, Geology and other fascinating subjects have played an important role in maintaining detail and intrigue for my poetic inkwell. I derive inspiration from many classical poets, such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Dickinson and Gregory Corso. Various historical figures such as Vincent Van Gogh, Madame Tussaud, and Rasputin have captured my imagination and quill, as well as favored literature ranging from the `Tao Te Ching' by Lao Tsu to `The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge' by Carlos Castaneda. Life's own instances of romance, lost love, personal desires and the like have also become my poetry.

Along with this `Baker's Dozen' co-authored publication, I am preparing at least two additional books of poetry that are due for release in the near future. One book will be co-authored with the talented poetess Amanda Dawn Vanessa Cianci. To my best friend, Amanda, an inspiration and accomplice, I give a special thank you for your constant support and love.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Poetic Knight and Mad Scientist,

Christopher William Cianci

With joy this first edition of The Baker's Dozen, The Cole Foundation: Volume II went live within one year from The Baker's Dozen, The Cole Foundation: Volume I. What an outstanding feat to accomplish.
Equal to the previous Volume I, the cover is simplicity. The beauty does not compete with the wonders and dreams shared within each leaf presented. You will find a few differences in presentation, but only via complementary. You may have noticed that books considered collectible have a plain, un-intrusive,and elegant appearance much like the Holy Bible.
The thirteen featured poets have received a merit-based scholarship grant through The Cole Foundation for the Arts.
As parallel to Volume I, a common factor is that the featured poets have not personally met each other. The poets come from different educational backgrounds, various religions, and come from different countries. The bonding factor each poet shares is the love of language, finding the perfect words to create a painting within the mind of a reader.
The content of this book has something for everyone, from humor to romantic Shakespearian type poems, experience of slavery and search for heritage, from war to freedom for all, and more.
Please leave this book on a table for everyone to read. It shall create very interesting conversation, and the cost is relatively inexpensive in comparison to the rich and enlightening conversation it may create between friends and family.